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What is a senior development engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Andrea Welker Ph.D.

As a senior development engineer, you will be responsible for designing and developing products and systems in line with the organization's needs. You'll develop preliminary designs and cost estimates for projects. You'll oversee the execution of product qualification testing, interpret results and improve the product based on the results. You have to ensure the project falls under established cost, schedule, and quality requirements. Moreover, you'll test structures, troubleshoot problems, and create strategies to optimize operations. Additionally, you'll lead and serve as a role model to junior engineers.

To become a senior development engineer, you need either a bachelor's or a master's degree in engineering, material science, or a related discipline. You must have experience in statistical data analysis and Solidworks 3D modeling. You must possess interpersonal, teamwork, communication, and negotiation skills. These professionals earn as high as $146,000 and a low of $89,000 annually. Their annual salary is $113,933 on average.

What general advice would you give to a senior development engineer?

Andrea Welker Ph.D.Andrea Welker Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Villanova University

Be open to new experiences. Find a good mentor. Become a valued employee. Always remember that you are designing something for someone.
ScoreSenior Development EngineerUS Average
Salary
8.0

Avg. Salary $113,763

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
6.4
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 16.82%

Black or African American 3.07%

Hispanic or Latino 7.84%

Unknown 4.51%

White 67.66%

Gender

female 7.97%

male 92.03%

Age - 39
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39
Stress level
7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Senior development engineer career paths

Key steps to become a senior development engineer

  1. Explore senior development engineer education requirements

    Most common senior development engineer degrees

    Bachelor's

    67.8 %

    Master's

    19.2 %

    Doctorate

    6.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific senior development engineer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Java18.75%
    Python7.73%
    C++6.01%
    Software Development4.37%
    Object Oriented Programming3.93%
  3. Complete relevant senior development engineer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior development engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior development engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior development engineer resumes.
  4. Research senior development engineer duties and responsibilities

    • Lead team effort to develop a corrective action plan with documentation require for FDA regulatory compliance.
    • Lead a group of 9 engineers responsible for technology development for handling electronic packages (computer CPU) during HVM.
    • Work on CSS, HTML.
    • Design and develop user interface using HTML 5 and CSS.
  5. Get senior development engineer experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a senior development engineer. The most common roles before becoming a senior development engineer include development engineer, senior software engineer team lead and design engineer.
  6. Prepare your senior development engineer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior development engineer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior development engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable senior development engineer resume templates

    Build a professional senior development engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior development engineer resume.
    Senior Development Engineer Resume
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    Senior Development Engineer Resume
    Senior Development Engineer Resume
    Senior Development Engineer Resume
    Senior Development Engineer Resume
    Senior Development Engineer Resume
  7. Apply for senior development engineer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a senior development engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first senior development engineer job

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Average senior development engineer salary

The average senior development engineer salary in the United States is $113,763 per year or $55 per hour. Senior development engineer salaries range between $87,000 and $148,000 per year.

Average senior development engineer salary
$113,763 Yearly
$54.69 hourly

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How do senior development engineers rate their job?

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Senior development engineer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

The Different employees i work with and what all i learn from them

Cons

very little


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019
Pros

Troubleshooting and commissioning

Cons

Undone job, when we're unable to discover certain fault on time.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Pros

Challenge, satisfaction of problem resolution and working with team

Cons

HR compliance and accounting auditing , quarterly budgeting rather than Annual as previously accepted. Wallstreet insistence on more frequent projections


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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